Curling in Canada has always been aligned, historically, with the military and their early offshoot, the police force. It was the military that brought curling to Canada and it is said that a Scottish regiment seeking a diversion during the lengthy siege of Quebec inserted handles into the metal rimmed hubcaps of guard gun carriages to make curling irons. Using these instead of rocks, they filled in the long winter hours playing a version of the game enjoyed back in the Scottish Highlands. It is possible that the descendants of these early Canadian curlers brought the game to the west with the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the immigration movement from eastern Canada that followed. The first curling club in Manitoba (Winnipeg) was formed in 1879.
In 1929, Beausejour had its first curling rink which was a bare bones one sheet facility with natural ice and no insulation. The building was originally the curing shed of the Manitoba Pressed Brick Factory and was moved to the corner of Ashton and Second Street. The first Beausejour Curling Club was established in February1930.
An ice maker was hired and paid on a monthly basis; the pay was $20 for the first month and $15 per month thereafter. Curling fees were $2 per season if you had your own rocks otherwise it was $5 per season. In 1935 the first ladies league was formed.
Curling became the sport of choice to fill in the long winters in our community and one sheet of curling ice was hardly enough, so the facility was upgraded to an impressive two sheet facility in 1934. It apparently included a viewing area and a separate room with a wood stove where many a curler gathered after the game to critique their play and maybe have a few sips of their libation of choice which was “snuck into” the club. From this point on, there was no turning back. The future of curling in our town was bright.
By the 1950s, with electricity having become widespread throughout the area, more and more of the residents of the area had time for recreational pursuits. The camaraderie of the sport of curling had an immediate appeal to many in the community and surrounding area. This meant that even two sheets of curling ice was no longer enough.
In 1959 it was decided that a modern four sheet club would be constructed. Corporal Leach of the RCMP led the volunteer group to build the new facility. Among the many amateur builders who were a big part of the working crews were Jerome and Murray Shuster, Arnie Meltzer, Sandy and Alvin Hayes, Marion Lachowski and Len Drewlo to name a few. The community dedicated themselves to building a facility that would last for the foreseeable future. Their efforts were rewarded with a state of the art curling club built on Ashton Avenue right beside the Memorial Arena. Not only did it now feature four sheets of curling ice, but it boasted viewing areas both at ice level and in the upstairs lounge area with lockers lining the walls.
Beausejour was now touted as having one of the finest four sheet rinks in the province. It was valued at $55,000 and all it cost them was the price of materials around $20,000 and the heart and soul of the curling community who worked together to build it.
In 1962 the Club undertook another significant upgrade with the installation of artificial ice. This would extend the curling season and ensure the ice would not be impacted by Mother Nature. Piping was installed over the ground along each sheet and the installation of an artificial ice plant to control ice temperature and maintain the ice surface. With membership thriving, the Club continued with improvements including the installation of four gas heaters to heat the ice shed in 1971 and in 1974 insulation was installed on the roof of the arena.
In 1980 the Beausejour Curling Club celebrated its 50th anniversary. The proud members of the Club undertook another significant upgrade by insulating the ice surface which would prevent it from heaving and also would reduce electrical costs to run the plant. It involved stripping away the old top soil and clay from the ice surface area and replacing it with packed and levelled sand. It was then covered with a dense styrofoam insulation and finally the laying of piping on top.
The Beausejour Curling Club was a growing community. Weekly men’s, women’s and mixed league draws were run at 6:00, 8:00 and 10:00 PM to accommodate all the teams, as well as a strong after school junior program. The Club held annual golf tournaments, huge bonspiels with teams on waiting lists, weekly articles in the newspaper, and formal windup banquets including the presentation of league winner awards, a catered meal, a band and lots of socializing and dancing. Unfortunately the strong membership of 350 were cast an unthinkable blow in the wee hours of May 30, 1986 when an electrical fire destroyed our beloved Club. The loss was felt deeply by so many, not just from our Club but from our town and surrounding communities who had enjoyed so many memories there.
As was aptly put by a club member, the “fire destroyed our building but not our Club”. Within a couple of weeks of that fateful day, Shirley Cherrey, the newly elected president, called a membership meeting where they unanimously voted to rebuild a six sheet curling club with all possible speed. Mayor Don Mazur presented an option to build adjacent to the recreational complex. He advised that a site for a future curling rink, including a water connection was pre-planned in the course of developing the recreational complex property. The curling club had the option of building on this land at no cost. One of the members, Bob Bisko, volunteered to undertake responsibility for architectural drafting and construction supervision for the project. And so it began…
As was the case in past curling club history, club member volunteers were at the forefront in the new chapter of the Beausejour Curling Club. At a July Club membership meeting a little over a month after the fire, a building design and location plan, that had received approval in Principle by the Town Council, received unanimous approval by the members. A building committee was established lead by Bob Bisko and Chris Tomasson. The efforts of these two individuals was monumental as the driving force of this project.
The insurance coverage consisted of $200,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents. The undertaking of a new six sheet facility was estimated to cost $650,000 and clearly insurance revenues would not cover the intended design. In order to proceed, the club would look toward obtaining additional financial resources through federal and provincial grants, equipment, labour, and material donations and general fundraising. Beausejour Mayor Don Mazur and the R.M. of Brokenhead Reeve William Kozera pledged support of both councils in terms of equipment and labour. Stan Wilgosh, from the arena board, indicated they would consider sharing the cost of a new ice plant if provisions were made so that it would be large enough to one day service a new skating arena. Another outcome from this meeting was a decision to negotiate a joint fundraising with SPLASH pool committee on a project-by-project basis
With building plans well underway, the arduous task of raising funds began. Laverne Cherrey lead the way for securing funds through federal and provincial grants. Multiple donations from various individuals, organizations and businesses were pouring in. Fundraising committees over the course of construction led by various Chairs including Debbie Baylis, Donna Borkowsky, Norm Cherrey and Ken Stasiuk and many dedicated, energetic volunteers held numerous fundraising activities. These included scratch and Grey Cup ticket sales, multiple socials, a monster garage sale, working bingos and various local event concession stands, ice cream booths and lawn fertilizer sales…no activity was too big or too small. A couple of the biggest events were a Country Harvest Ho-down featuring a well know band from Riverton and an open bonspiel held at the Memorial Arena featuring 64 rinks. Curling rocks for this spiel were loaned to the club from various Curling clubs within the area. In total these tireless volunteers raised in excess of $25,000.
Bonspiel at Memorial Arena
Thanks to the donation of land, water and sewer, equipment and manpower by the Town of Beausejour and the R.M of Brokenhead and the management of Bob Bisko, the first ground was broken and construction began in October, 1986.
Bob Bisko
While the shell, electrical and plumbing were completed by construction and trades, the majority of work was done by volunteers. Chris Tomasson took on the daunting task of volunteer coordinator and above that was on site every evening and weekend organizing the workers and completing many tasks on his own. Below are a series of pictures of our dedicated volunteers at various stages of construction. The many hours provided by these volunteers was extraordinary!
Installing tongue and groove roof in the middle of winter.
Other volunteer activities included all insulation and drywall installation, painting, bathroom wall tiling and so much more….
In March 1987, during a critical stage in construction, it was realized that sufficient funds were unavailable to continue and all construction activities were halted. The Club was in dire need of a Provincial grant of $75,000, however we did not qualify unless we had like monies in hand. With $25,000 in fundraising completed along with various donations we were still well short of this requirement. It was at that time the Town of Beausejour stepped forward with a $40,000 grant which enabled us to meet the Provincial requirement threshold and eventually were awarded the grant which allowed the project to continue.
It took a tight knit supportive community to make this project a success and in October, 1987 the Beausejour Curling Club was back in action. An amazing feat to complete in a short year and a half. As voted on at the April 1987 annual meeting, curling fees were set at $100 for annual membership and $50 per evening of curling. These fees were established to ensure the Club’s ability to run the facility and pay off the $100,000 bank loan for the project. (To this day, 2023, membership fees have not changed.) Curling continues to be a truly affordable and fun sport in our community.
On November 4, 1987 the official Grand Opening was held. The building of this club was a labour of love, dedication and hard work bringing it home. As quoted from a Curling Club newspaper article, “It was one of those special feelings that you would like to capture and store in a very secure place. It made you feel good to think of all those people who worked on the project, either directly in the form of physical labour, or indirectly in the form of fundraising and other activities.” To this day, visitors are in awe of our amazing facility and curling ice. Yet again this community built one of the finest curling clubs in the province, something to be extremely proud of.
In 2002, the Town of Beausejour and the RM of Brokenhead built a modern hockey rink joining the existing Beausejour Curling Club. Under a long-term naming rights deal, the facility was branded as the SunGro Centre and the operation of the curling facility was officially turned over to the Town of Beausejour. The Beausejour Curling Club continues to operate a very active league schedule, bonspiels and to host a number of provincial competitions in both the curling facility and newly constructed hockey arena. As of 2024, the facility is now known as the Beausejour Sportsplex.
As the Beausejour Curling Club approaches its 100th anniversary in 2030, the current membership honours the contributions made by the past members to the sport of curling and to the social fabric of the Beausejour-Brokenhead area. While some memories garnered with the Curling Club may fade over time, it is our hope that this tribute to our Club and its members will provide an essence of the pride, camaraderie and true sportsmanship that the game of curling provides in our community.
The documents below contain other historical information about our club that might be of interest.
Some of the information contained on this page is also displayed in the club on our Recognition Walls in the Icebreaker Lounge. There you will also find information on club members who have gone on to national and international levels in the sport of Curling. We currently have displays on Selena Njegovan (nee Kaatz), Justin Richter and Greg Ewasko.
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